1. Field of the Invention
This invention concerns a track and thrust roller bearing for supporting a load by the reaction of a liquid under pressure, by the reaction of rollers in the absence of a liquid under pressure, or by the combined action of liquid pressure and roller support.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The bearing of the present invention operates on the principle of hydrostatic support, in a manner similar to hydrostatic bearings currently in use, but presents new features that greatly enhance its services and broadly increase its possibilities for utilization. One version or embodiment of the hydrostatic support bearing which utilizes all solid rollers does not differ in theory from the hydrostatic support bearings currently in use which have a number of chambers fed by throttles. The chambers are typically separated by fixed tiles covering a portion of the shaft. The tiles have the function of limiting as much as possible the passage of pressured fluid from one chamber of a higher pressure to an adjacent chamber of a lower pressure via undesired fluid passages. These passages greatly decrease the value of the pressure differential in the different chambers, and therefore the loading capacity of the bearing as well.